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Wednesday, January 28, 2009

You Gotta Getty!

Last weekend, my wife and I and our friend Sergio went to the J.Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. As a California native I'm embarrassed to say it was my first trip to the Getty. Soon after we began checking the place out I slapped my forehead over the many exhibits I know I missed over the years. The place is truly amazing. The building itself is a work of art.

The way its designed even makes Los Angeles look like a work of art.

It wasn't until the past year that I really began to appreciate art museums. I've always loved the idea of art. In fact, one of my two favorite classes in college was Art Appreciation. But I never had the patience to stand and contemplate one piece for long. I just tore through museums like one of those funny looking Olympic speedwalkers. Now, even the clay models artists design before they start hacking away at huge slabs of marble fascinate me. (That's Sergio taking a picture of me taking a picture of him. Aren't we clever?)

I have never had a stunned reaction to a piece of art before. Never. I've appreciated certain pieces more than others, but never had a heightened emotional reaction. But then I rounded a corner and came face to painted-face with The Penitent Magdalene by Titian. I honestly felt like a voyeur...like I'd interrupted a private and heartbreaking appeal to God. And I swear I saw her breathing!

Of course, I can only walk around a museum for so long without getting antsy. And when you're trying to be silly in an art museum sometimes you have to take the pics before you have time to focus the camera.

After I took these two pics, several people took similar shots. And you know the artists would've approved!

I'll definitely be going back to the Getty in the next few months. Hey, maybe we should make a field trip out of it!

2 comments:

I live in Connecticut and it is a pretty boring state, but there are probably gems like these just around the corner. I came to this blog via the mermaid blog which was featured in 13 Reasons that I was browsing through in the grocery store.